Federal Electoral Institute
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The Federal Electoral Institute (Spanish: Instituto Federal Electoral, IFE) is an autonomous, public organization responsible for organizing federal elections in Mexico, that is, those related to the election of President of the United Mexican States and to the election of the members of the Lower and Upper Chambers that constitute the Congress of the Union.
As of 2006 the IFE general council is presided by Luis Carlos Ugalde.
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[edit] History
The IFE was formally established on October 11, 1990, as a result of a series of constitutional reforms approved in 1989, and of the issuing of a new legislation in electoral subject matter in August 1990, the Federal Code of Electoral Institutions and Procedures (COFIPE), currently in force. The legislative branch of the federal government, the national political parties, and the general citizenry participate in its composition.
Ever since its creation, the constitutional and legal regulations in this subject matter have experienced significant reform processes, which have had an impact on its integration and attributions. The most recent of these reforms, approved in 1996, reinforced the level of independence and autonomy of the IFE by completely dissociating the executive branch from any aspect regarding its integration and functioning, and by reserving the vote within all its directive bodies to the councilors that do not have links to any party or to any state power or body.
The IFE has legal personality and patrimony of its own. Unlike the bodies that preceded it in its function of organizing federal elections, its nature is permanent. Its headquarters are located in the Federal District, and it is organized under a decentralized framework that allows it to exercise its attributions throughout the country.
[edit] Political parties and associations
IFE is also charged with the registration, funding and overseeing of national political parties (as opposed to local political parties, which are registered by each state's Electoral Institute). Rules and guidelines for the registration of national political parties are outlined in the Federal Code of Electoral Institutions and Procedures.
In addition, the Institute can register national political associations, which are intended to assist in the development of democratic life and the country's political culture, as well as being intended to create a better informed public opinion. The creation of a national political association is usually regarded as the first step towards the creation of a full-fledged political party.
[edit] Professional Electoral Service
In order to guarantee a professional and specialized performance of its responsibilities, the IFE counts on a special system of recruitment, selection, training, and evaluation of qualified staff to provide electoral services, especially in its fundamental areas, which are the ones directly linked with the preparation and organization of elections.
